Six Days in Bangkok . . .

 

Thai Dancers



Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew from the Chao Phraya

Six days seemed like a very long time to be in an extremely hot and humid city, but time has gone relatively fast.   I spent one day taking the train to visit the ruins of Ayutthaya, the previous capitol of Thailand. 



Elephants at Ayutthaya

I think I have finally (somewhat) mastered the art of getting around in this city and have taken the Skytrain, subway, train, water taxi on the khlongs and the river taxi on the Chao Phraya River and got lost only a few times!  Between visits to Lumpini Park, ridiculously chaotic boat taxi rides to the beautiful Wat Sakhet or Golden Mount, calm and peaceful boat rides on the khlongs (canals) past people's homes (Bangkok is known as the Venice of the East), the super crowded, super busy Khlong Lat Mayom Floating Market with all of the sounds, smells, people, and amazing food, the 'local' wat, an impromptu walking street and trips down (and up) the Chao Phraya River, time has passed quickly.  I didn't even include all the fun shopping places (Khao San Road, Chatuchak Market to name just two of the big ones).  The food here will make your eyes water and your nose run, the streets can get so hot that your feet burn through your shoes, the air is thick with pollution on some days and on others just thick with humidity. 

Khlong Lat Mayom Floating Market (Note the
4 foot ceiling under the bridge)



Some Homes on the Khlong

Lumpini Park



Bells at Wat Sakhet (Golden Mount)

A Scene at Lumpini Park

Yesterday evening, I went to Lumpini Park.  It was Sunday and the park was filled with people: families having picnics, a choral group singing angelic music at the bandstand, a group of about 40 doing aerobics to music, more swan boats than I've ever seen in one place cruising around the lakes, people fencing, doing Tai Chi, playing checkers and chess, lots of badminton, people running, walking and cycling around the 2 1/2 km exterior - you get the picture.  It was really enjoyable and a great chance to walk and interact with the locals, as well as other tourists.  At 6:00 p.m. on the dot, EVERYTHING stopped as it always does while the Thai national anthem is played and everyone stands to honor their king. 
So, love it or hate it, there is nothing quite like this place.  I'm one of the lovers (in small doses)  but, that being said, it is time to leave until next time.  Time to go home!  Yay!

 

Borneo - The Kinabatangan River

I suppose I should start with the Golomontong Caves which we visited on the way to the river and which were incredibly high and very, very stinky.  This is one of the locations where bird's nests are harvested (4 times a year) and it must be crazy work!  They were not harvesting while we were there, but carried several thousand dollars worth of bird's nests off to be sold.  The white ones sell for more because they're pure bird saliva whereas the black ones are mixed with feathers.  Can't wait to try some Bird's Nest Soup . . . ummmm, maybe not.

Hauling the Nests to Market

 

I had the good fortune to travel with a wonderful group of seven people from Australia.  They laughed a lot, were great company and really appreciated all the amazing wildlife we saw.  They are off to climb Mt. Kinabalu and I wish them good luck and safe travels.  It was an all too brief pleasure!

Here are some of the creatures we were lucky enough to see thanks to our great guides, Conner and Israel.

Proboscis Monkeys

Proboscis Mama and baby

Another Proboscis Mama And Tiny Baby

                                                 



Silver Leaf Monkey (White form) - Very Rare
Only found on the Kinabatangan River in Borneo

A Silver Leaf Monkey or Silvery Langur

Hornbills Galore!  I know the top one and the two in the tree are Oriental Pied Hornbills, The one with the orange point on top is, of course, a Rhinoceros Hornbill.  I'm really not sure of the others, but they're magnificent!

Can't figure these guys out - maybe juveniles?





A Couple Crocodiles . . .

The splash in the water is from macaques throwing fruit in the water.
Ha!  Teasing the crocodile?

This guy was BIG. . . maybe 13 feet?

A close-up.

And the others:

A Fat Hawk

Egrets Are Similar Everywhere

Oriental Darter

Hawk Eagle



 



Reticulated Python

The night walk was the coolest, even though we were sweltering in our boots, long sleeves, long pants, and hats.  We saw two mouse deer (they're very small - cat size) and the following cast of characters - some sound asleep.

These two birds are sleeping and we 'let sleeping birds lie' - Ha!

 

This spider is not sleeping.

Woodpecker - obviously sleeping and do not disturb!

A Western Tarsier

How cool is it that we got to see all the amazing creatures?  Today in Sandakan, I visited Agnes Keith's home and walked around the grounds, saw a white bellied sea eagle (a very large bird), walked down the 100 stairs that is actually 264 (I counted) to a very odd Chinese Buddhist temple with enormous amounts of incense burning inside and out.  Sandakan has a lot of history and has been seized, occupied, bombed and burned to the ground over the years.  It shows despite the warmness of the people who live there.  That being said, I'm now sitting in the roof restaurant of my hotel overlooking the Sulu Sea, watching the sunset and listening to a Muslim call to prayer and it's rather surreal. I will sadly leave all of this behind but will return to Bangkok for some delicious Thai food (YAY!) and a few adventures before heading home.